The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has successfully garnered significant interest from institutional investors, raising Rs 6,746.18 crore from 189 anchor investors ahead of its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO).
According to the company's circular, 3,77,93,739 equity shares were allocated to these anchor investors at a price of Rs 1,785 per share. The strong participation underscores the market's positive outlook on the exchange, often seen as a proxy for the 'India story' in the financial sector.
Diverse Investor Participation
The anchor book saw broad-based interest from both foreign and domestic entities. Foreign institutional investors contributed Rs 2,883 crore, accounting for 43 percent of the total anchor book. Notable international participants included sovereign wealth funds such as GIC Singapore, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Norges Bank. Other prominent global investors included Fidelity, GSAM, Eastspring, Zurich Invest Institutional Funds, and Societe Generale.
Domestic participation was equally robust, with mutual funds, insurance companies, pension funds, and other institutions investing around Rs 3,588 crore, making up 53 percent of the anchor book. Key Indian investors included:
- Mutual Funds: SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential, HDFC MF, Nippon MF, Axis MF, Aditya Birla MF, Kotak MF, UTI MF, Mirae MF, Tata MF, Franklin Templeton MF, Edelweiss MF, HSBC MF, LIC MF.
- Insurance & Pension Funds: Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), HDFC Life, SBI Life, SBI General, and various leading pension funds.
LIC, a significant existing shareholder in NSE with a 10.72 percent stake, participated through LIC, LIC Mutual Funds, and LIC Pension Funds, investing over Rs 500 crore. Similarly, the SBI group, which is also selling a 1 percent stake in NSE, invested over Rs 400 crore via SBI Mutual Fund, SBI General, SBI Life, and SBI Pension.
IPO Details and Timeline
The NSE IPO is scheduled to open for bidding on Thursday, September 17, and will close on Monday, September 21. The price band for the issue has been set between Rs 1,700 and Rs 1,785 per equity share, with a lot size of 8 equity shares.
The company aims to raise a total of Rs 22,568 crore from its maiden stake sale, which is entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 12.64 crore equity shares. This indicates that existing shareholders are selling their stakes, and no new shares are being issued by the company.